(Wethersfield, Conn./WTIC) - Inmates in the state Department of Correction system are stepping up to help produce facemasks for those on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The department's Correctional Enterprises of Connecticut division has been churning out masks for doctors, nurses, and other health care workers when N95 respirators are at a premium.
CEC has five manufacturing shops which can produce the masks.
Officials say since Monday, they have produced between 1,200 and 1,400 masks daily, with production expected to increased as the process becomes more streamlined.
James Gaglione, the director of the CEC unit, says they recently received 28,000 yards of elastic to use in production.
Commissioner Rollin Cook says staff and offenders are stepping up for the greater good.
So far, over 3,300 masks have been produced by the CEC.